


The Dove and the Raven

by sunnynights



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fairy Tale Style, Multi, Separate Childhoods, Separated at Birth, Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22689631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnynights/pseuds/sunnynights
Summary: Two birds, separated at birth, fly very different paths. But when reunited, will they open their hearts or bare their talons?
Relationships: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia, Saundor/Vex'ahlia (Critical Role), Shaun Gilmore/Vax'ildan, Vax'ildan & Vex'ahlia (Critical Role)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU where Vex and Vax get separated at birth and grow up without each other, never joining Vox Machina. Took some major liberties with timelines and locations so ignore that

_There once was a bird that was taken from her nest. She was kept in a gilded cage, and grew up as prim and proper as a father’s mistake could be. Her lonesome songs rang sweet and forlorn, but they were never enough for the ones that listened. So the first time she saw another branch, she spread her wings._

Vex didn't flinch when a tendril of vine brushed her cheek. She stood with her back against a tree and just stared into his bright yellow eyes, glowing in the darkness of the forest. Despite her initial fear, there was a softness to him she found endearing. Saundor stared back, captivated by the young woman who stood before him.

"That's a beautiful dress."

Vex looked down at her attire. It _was_ a beautiful dress. Expensive too. But it was ripped from being snagged on thorns, and marred by the viscous black ichor that ran through the swamp. "Thank you. It was a birthday gift." A lie. Her father had left money and a note telling her to get something presentable for a party that was more about his friends than hers.

"Well, I suppose I should get you a gift as well." More vines slithered off Saundor, reaching for her. Where they touched her dress they left soft greenery to mend the tears, where they touched her hair they intertwined flowers of yellow and white. "Now it's almost beautiful enough for you."

Vex blushed, looked away. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Now, why do I find you at the heart of the Shademurk Bog in tears on your birthday?"

"I...I needed to get away from home."

Saundor gestured for her to sit on a wide branch. "I sense a sadness, an emptiness in you. I know it well."

"I'm just so tired of trying to be what everyone around me wants me to be."

"You are desperately lost, but I can help you find your way. We both long for someone to heal our wounds."

"Have you been hurt?"

"Once, a long time ago. I loved her and she left me. But we don't have to be alone anymore." He held his hand out to her. "I can give you many gifts. You could rise above your pain. You could be wanted."

"What would I have to give you in return?"

"Just your heart."

Vex hesitated. Living with her father taught her, if nothing else, that love wasn't unconditional. But this chance to be powerful, to stop hiding her need to be loved behind false confidence and finally become someone. She took his hand, a mass of vine and thorn. "My heart is yours."

For the first time since she met him, Vex saw Saundor smile. It was beautiful to see his sorrowful elven face alight, and Vex could see some of the noxious black ichor begin to recede.

"We can create something here that's pure and far bigger than those that wronged you. We can strengthen each other. You will flourish, Vex'halia, my dove."

———————————————

_There once was a bird that stayed in his nest. He didn’t have much beyond his mother’s love, until the day when he lost her too. The bird did whatever it took to survive. He sold his feathers, and when that wasn’t enough he stole. When that wasn’t enough, he sang with his talons._

Vax sighed in delight, setting the wine glass down on the table. The man kissed him as his hands roamed his body. The woman played with his long dark hair, out of its usual braid, while her lips traced the long-since healed brand on his back. That symbol was the closest he had to a sense of belonging; the Clasp was the closest he had to a home. Of course, getting there meant giving up so much. He had done things he never thought was capable of, and he stayed willing to do worse.

Vax’s activities were interrupted by an insistent knocking. He reluctantly pushed away his partners and rose to answer the door. Standing nervously in the moonlit night was a human man, a boy really. Some distance behind him was a half-orc keeping watch. Vax vaguely recognized them as newer Clasp recruits. The boy held a scroll out, which Vax made a point of ignoring. Instead, he crossed his arms across his bare chest.

"What's your name?"

"Kynan, sir."

Vax could see the naivety, the inexperience in how the boy carried himself. Like the weight of the brand, still fresh, had yet to settle on his shoulders.

"Kynan, explain to me what about this scroll is so important that it requires my attention at this hour."

“I’m sorry sir, but Spireling Shafa wanted you to have this as soon as possible.”

Vax took the scroll and unfurled it, skimming the Thieves Cant. “Is this about that insufferable prince?”

“Yes sir, he has fled the Umbra Hills. The Spireling has heard word that he may be hiding in the Feywild. She wants you to leave tonight.”

For months, the Clasp had worked to track down a prince that had inexplicably fled from home. A fool really, to abandon such a place of privilege. Vax didn’t care much for politics, but he did care for the absurdly large sum of gold that the Lord and Lady Briarwood of Whitestone offered for his safe return. 

Vax opened the scroll further and found a map of the area known as the Feywild. It was not far from here, but the deception magic surrounding it made it difficult to locate and traverse. A circle of red ink surrounded a swamp, the Shademurk Bog. As he scanned the map, his eyes rested on a name that caused an unfamiliar twinge in his heart. Syngorn. He had heard of this city long ago, though he couldn’t remember where. He quickly folded the papers and addressed the boy standing awkwardly in his doorway.

“That was a trick question, Kynan. Never mention our operations in mixed company.”

Kynan looked past Vax and into the home, where a man and a woman in states of undress busied themselves with glasses of wine, pretending not to be eavesdropping. He looked down, flushing in embarrassment. “Yes sir, sorry sir.”

“Tell Shafa that I’ll leave when I damn well please. And don’t fucking send people to my home ever again.” Vax slammed the door.

Kynan stepped away from the house and rejoined the half-orc. They quickly made their way to the Clasp’s base.

Once they were far enough away, Kynan remarked to his partner, “Gods, what a dick. Who even was that guy?”

The half-orc looked at him in disbelief. “You’re kidding. You actually don’t know who that was?” When Kynan shook his head, he let out a laugh. “You really are new. That was Spireling Shafa’s right-hand man. He’s a master thief and assassin. Targets never even see him coming, that’s why they call him Vax’ildan the raven.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm real excited about this fic yall. Hopefully I'll finish it but I'm DMing a campaign for the first time and my brain cells have all left the chat ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Stay tuned friends


	2. Chapter 2

In the years Vex'halia spent in the Shademurk, she became one with the forest. Her skin was smooth bark, her hair flowed loose like a willow, her form draped with greenery and blossoms. But beyond that, the Shademurk became an extension of her being. She could speak to the beasts living within, command the plants, and felt her life essence flow throughout the now cleansed swamp. So she knew immediately when an unfamiliar figure entered deep into her domain.

She watched curiously from the trees at the human stumbling through the thick woods. He was pale and wan, exhausted. How long had he been running? And what was he running from? His foot caught on a root risen above the ground, and as he fell, Vex'halia directed vines to catch him. He struggled against the tendrils, his eyes racing with fear.

Vex'halia descended and allowed the vines to fall away with a wave of her hand. She padded silently through the forest floor rich with fallen leaves and mud until she was right before him. He reminded her of a rabbit: soft features, white hair, twitchy and ready to bolt at any second.

“You should watch where you’re going. Many dangers lie in the woods.”

He dropped to his knees and bowed deeply. “My apologies, your grace. I’m sorry to have disturbed your home. I am unaccustomed to these lands and only seek shelter.”

Vex’halia stared blankly, then snorted with laughter. “Get up! I grew up around men like you. Where you see formality, I only see pretentiousness.” The human quickly went to apologize again, but she silenced him. “If you are truly a gentleman,” she said theatrically, giving him a mock curtsy. “Grant me your name.”

He eyed her warily, still unsure if she was a threat, but he knew better than to run. “Percival de Rolo.”

“And where do you hail from?”

“A kingdom called Whitestone, quite a distance away.”

“I’ve never heard of this Whitestone. Are all the men there as eager to get on their knees as you are?”

He relaxed, letting a small smile escape his lips. “Those were just my special duties as the prince.”

Saundor emerged suddenly from the darkness, making Percival stumble backward. He joined Vex'halia at her side, kissing her cheek lightly. "Who do we have here?"

"A human prince."

Saundor frowned, staring coldly into Percival as he took Vex'halia's hand. "Your false royalty is not recognized here. You should be bending a knee to me and my beloved."

Vex'halia audibly groaned as Percival dropped down again. "Saundor, please. Let him speak."

Percival pulled his eyes away from Saundor's glare and looked to Vex'halia again. "I bear no title. My family was violently deposed many months ago. Since then I have been fleeing those that wish to end my bloodline. I only wish for a brief respite in the safety of this swamp."

Vex'halia nodded. "Then you shall have it."

Saundor turned to her in disbelief. "Do not be hasty, my dove. We don't know this human's intentions. The Shademurk is not a refuge for little mortals that run away from home."

"Then what was I?"

Saundor opened his mouth, then closed it, dumbstruck. Satisfied by his lack of response, she smiled warmly at the daunted human in question.

"Rise, Percival de Rolo. I grant you sanctuary in Shademurk Bog. No harm will come to you when you remain under these trees."

She held out her hand, and Percival grasped it graciously as he stood. In her entrancement with this strange man, Vex'halia didn't notice Saundor disappearing into the shadows, nor did she see the black tar-like ichor he left in his wake.

———————————————

With a flash of bright light, Vax'ildan's feet touched dirt and grass. He exhaled in relief, thankful for solid ground, while the sorcerer beside him let out a cheer.

"Perfection! That could have gone very badly. Gods, I am good."

Vax'ildan consulted the map of the Feywild. Behind them were the enchanted rivers known as the Gilded Run. And in front of them was the western edge of the Shademurk Bog, the most likely hiding place of Prince Percival de Rolo. He adjusted his braid and turned to his companion. "That was impressive, Mr. Gilmore."

"Please, call me Shaun."

"How did you come under the employ of the Clasp, Shaun?"

"Oh, I'm not Clasp. Like most merchants, I owned them a little favor. Truth be told, my job was just to get you here, but now I'm not inclined to let you go." Shaun gave a wink and a flourish, turning his rich robes of violet and gold into an outfit still equally as gaudy but more suited for traversing a swamp. "Are you in need of a mage?"

Vax'ildan was prepared to turn him away. Shaun wasn't the most physically adept or inconspicuous, he would only slow them down. But then he flashed Vax'ildan a grin that made his stomach flutter and cheeks grow warm. He brushed it off as remnants of the teleportation spell, but couldn’t bring himself to say no.

"I'll take all the help I can get."

The pair set off into the Shademurk. Although it was completely bright outside, no light made its way into the bog. The trees had thick roots reaching out from below, and their canopies sagged like a man who's spirit had been broken. In some ways, it could be considered beautiful, but Vax'ildan could only think of what dangers may hide within. As he slogged through each step, he thanked the gods for Shaun. He preferred to work alone, but something about the man's charismatic presence and delightful chatter filling the silence made the journey almost bearable. It helped that he was very handsome. Caramel skin, thick black hair, eyes brown and lively like a strong cup of coffee.

"And _that's_ why I don't sell Sandkheg's Hide anymore. Have you been to Marquet?"

Vax'ildan realized he had been staring as Shaun finished his story and looked at him expectantly. "Uh, no. Actually, this is the farthest I've ever been from home."

"Well, I know we're here on business but I'd love to stop by Syngorn. I hear it's beautiful. The jade there is..."

That city again. Why did it sound so familiar? Vax'ildan racked his brain as Shaun mused on.

"Ha, assuming they'd even let us in. Elven bastards."

"What did you say?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you're half elf."

"No, what did you mean by that? Why wouldn't they let us in?"

"Syngorn is almost entirely made up of elves. They don't like us tainting their atmosphere."

A city of elves. His mother must have mentioned it before. Vax'ildan learned early in his life not to ask her about his father, or else she would feel ill and spend several days in bed. It was a forbidden topic. But there was one night where she spoke of him. It was the dead of winter, and Elaina's chapped fingers bled onto the scraps of fabric as she sewed. Vax'ildan couldn't have been older than five, his little cheeks ruddy from the cold as he rushed into her arms and held out the coin purse he had stolen with pride. His mother sent him to his room as punishment, but when he came out for dinner he was met with a whole chicken and two loaves of bread, more food than he had ever seen at once. That night, Elaina tucked him into bed with an extra blanket and told him not to steal ever again. She played with his hair, and as he drifted off she told him about Syngorn. About how she wished she could take him to the city of elves and reunite them.

“Vax’ildan? Vax, are you okay?”

He blinked. Shaun held his arm, his face creased with worry. Vax’ildan realized that tears had been silently streaming down his face. He wiped them quickly. “I’m fine. We’re not moving fast enough, let’s go.”

“We’re making pretty good time. Is there something you want to talk about?”

Vax’ildan roughly pulled away. “I knew you would slow me down,” he muttered as he moved ahead. For the first time in the journey, Shaun didn’t speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> literally not one single soul:  
> me: i hope they notice that vex and vax have opposite hair even though it adds nothing to the story
> 
> Also I really need to start proofreading my work so I don't post it and then make a billion edits, but why do that. I'm in this for that instant gratification babyyyy


	3. Chapter 3

"Johanna, Julius, Vesper, and me,” Percival listed. “Then Oliver, Whitney, Ludwig, and Cassandra."

Vex’halia laid in the trees, impossibly held aloft by a canopy of delicate leaves. She crafted small white flowers and let them fall like fresh snow onto the man sitting on a bough below her. His back was against the broad trunk of the tree, his shoulders lighter in her presence. 

“That’s a big family, I’m so sorry you lost them. I always wished I had a brother or sister. Someone who understood what it was like growing up.”

“I take it Syngorn was not kind to you.”

She fiddled with her hands, pausing the shower of petals. "It would have been worse if not for my father's position. But in some ways, him being important made things just as bad. All my shortcomings were always on display. No matter what, I could never be good enough for them."

"I've met many people of supposed importance, and I can say with confidence that they are not worth you."

"That's kind of you to say." A quiet rustling, a movement in the leaves. A small squirrel scampered out from the branches and nestled itself in the crook of Vex'halia's neck, looking at her with wide, innocent eyes. She scratched its head gently.

"How did you end up here?"

"I ran away from home on my seventeenth birthday. I didn't know where I was going, just that I couldn't stay any longer. I found myself at the heart of the Shademurk, where Saundor granted me these gifts. He's a good man, just untrusting."

A pair of bluebirds flitted down to Percival. One landed on his leg, while the other perched on his shoulder. "And you've been here ever since?"

"I haven't left in nearly a decade. Sometimes I wonder what the outside world is like, but that's the price of safety."

"I suppose I do have to thank the Briarwoods for allowing me to travel. I had never left Whitestone until I was forced to."

"What do they want from you?"

"They've already killed the rest of my family. I’m just the final piece on the board. Luckily," Percival reached into his shirt and fished out a dull round pendant hung around his neck. "With this, they can't find me."

Vex'halia noticed the glint of something else on his chest. "What's that?"

Percival obligingly revealed another pendant, and Vex'halia gracefully slid down from where she lounged to see it more clearly. This one was a small ornate symbol of sun on a gold chain rather than a string. "Pelor, the Dawnfather, is the divine protector of Whitestone. He brings light where there is darkness, warmth to those who only know cold."

"He has my thanks." Vex'halia lifted a hand and at her command, the canopies of the trees parted, allowing blissful sunlight to stream through their leaves. Where they caressed the forest floor bloomed pansies and primroses of yellow. The gentle illumination brightened the dark heart of the swamp, and she watched Percival turn towards the warmth like a sunflower.

"You should see the world. I know I can't, but there is so much out there for you."

"I've never needed to."

His eyes, twin streams of fresh water and clear skies, sparkled in the light. He blushed and looked down, suddenly aware of how close their faces were. "Vex'halia, you're still running. Even when you stand still."

———————————————

Shaun extended his palm, splattering the troll with acid. The creature made a horrible cry of pain, like the squeal of bending metal, as its mottled green hide singed. It turned to face him, roaring with anger and extending its gnarled claws. Seeing an opening, Vax'ildan sank his dagger into the troll's hunched back, the blade finding purchase within its spine. The beast fell to its knees, then face down in the wet earth of the swamp.

Vax'ildan retracted his dagger and wiped it clean of the noxious blood, while Shaun watched cautiously for any signs of regeneration. This time, the troll was definitely not returning from death. Satisfied, Vax'ildan quickly scaled a nearby tree and looked over the forest. The fight had gotten them a little turned around but they were nearing the heart of the Shademurk. The sooner he nabbed his bounty and left this damn swamp, the better.

"Hey, Vax? Come take a look at this."

Vax'ildan rolled his eyes and leapt out of the tree. He landed with the agility of a cat, his hand bracing him as his feet hit the forest floor. "What?"

"Well, I wanted to warn you about this black substance on the ground, but you've went ahead and acquainted yourself with it."

He looked down and found himself, as Shaun said, in a shallow pool of a black, tar-like matter. He lifted himself with some resistance from the viscous liquid and examined the coating on his hand. It didn't feel immediately harmful to the skin, but the sensation was unpleasant. They hadn't encountered this substance elsewhere in the forest, but looking around, it seemed to seep outward from deeper within. Shaun cast prestidigitation, cleaning the hand within seconds, as Vax'ildan scowled. "Why didn't you say that while I was still in the tree?"

"You're welcome. And how I was I supposed to know you would three-point-land right into it?"

"When you're watching my six, be alert and be concise."

"Oh?" Shaun crossed his arms. "And what would you have done if I wasn't here? Other than be troll food."

"I'd probably be at home already, counting my reward money."

"You know I don't have to help you."

"Then why are you still here? Teleport back to your little shop."

Shaun threw his hands up in frustration. "Because I don't want to let you die! Gods, you absolute fucking child. Now I see why _the Raven works alone._ Because no one wants to put up with you!"

It hurt. Even when he knew it was true, even when he had heard it a hundred times, even when a million more times it was left unsaid but hung in the air like a sickening fog. When he stole lunches and disrupted class until his teachers asked him not to come to school anymore. When he was fired from his first job, his last attempt at an honest living, for being difficult to work with. When he mourned the death of his mother by jumping from partner to partner, trading sex for the smallest shred of being wanted. When even the Clasp had enough of him, but Spireling Shafa believed his anger and desperation could be molded into something useful.

Vax'ildan's head perked up. His eyes flitted from tree to tree, peering into the shadows. "Someone's here."

"What?"

"Shut up. There's someone watching us."

Shaun readied a spell, while Vax'ildan's hand hovered over his blade. Suddenly, vines shot out from the darkness. They bound their arms and legs and pulled upwards, stringing them like marionette dolls.

"I wonder" A low voice, a lilting melody with an undercurrent of harshness, reverberated through the forest. A figure stepped out from the trees, barely a man. Every inch of his tall, thin frame were leaves and thorns and gnarled bark. “Why my Shademurk is welcoming so many guests as of late?"

Shaun twisted his palm and released the spell, sending a bolt of red energy forward. The being raised his hand, and the ground rumbled as a thick trunk shot out of the ground, easily shielding him from the spell. But the second the bolt made contact with the tree, it burst into flames and showered all of them with sparks and splintered wood. Shaun used the distraction to turn invisible, and Vax’ildan could feel a dagger leaving its sheath and being pressed into his hand.

Saundor looked around wordlessly, then raised misshapen roots from the earth with a flick of his finger. Vax’ildan watched Shaun drop invisibility as he tripped, his fall caught by being strung up once again. More vines sprouted and snaked their way around their chests and throats. They squeezed, not suffocatingly so, but tight enough for the threat to linger. The dagger fell from Vax’ildan’s grasp, point sinking into the sludge-coated ground.

“Let’s try this again. Why are you mortals disgracing me with your presence?”

Vax'ildan looked over at Shaun, who had given up on wriggled against the bindings and stared back with wide eyes. "We're searching for a man who may have entered this forest a day or so ago." he answered. "Let us go, and we'll collect him and be on our way."

"Friends of his?"

He felt the vines on this throat tense and begin to constrict. "No," he gasped out. "The opposite, actually." There was a squelch as he landed, vines limply falling away. Shaun less gracefully dropped to his hands and knees in the black muck. Vax'ildan watched the being's face contort, and it took him a second to realize that it was a smile. But there was no warmth in it, only something bitter and malicious.

It beckoned with a hand of wood and thorns as it grinned. "In that case, come with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imagine being three chapters in and the twins still haven't met each other, talk about questionable writing skills amirite ladies
> 
> p.s. none of yall fuckin nerds better ask why a mage as powerful as gilmore only uses cantrips and 1st levels bc i don't have an answer to that


	4. Chapter 4

Nature can sense even the barest shred of incoming danger. The creatures fled and the plants recoiled as Saundor emerged from the sun-dappled trees. But Vex'halia turned towards him like he was her sun. She smiled, but his eyes were trained on Percival.

"Is this your man?"

Saundor's retinue stepped out from behind him. A dark-skinned human extended his hand, and Vex'halia watched Percival's body stiffen, his eyes frozen wide in fear. A lean half-elf with a long braid of dark brown hair grinned.

"Prince de Rolo. The Briarwoods await your return."

He took a running leap towards his bounty and found himself deflected by a gust of frigid air. He slid several feet back, and when he was able to see again, Vex'halia was in front of an arcanely paralyzed Percival with her arm out in defense. She turned to her beloved.

"Saundor, what is the meaning of this?"

"They've come to collect the little prince. He is no longer our problem."

"I gave him my protection."

Saundor took a step closer, his shadow falling darker on the forest floor than it should have. "And I did no such thing."

“So you would act against me? Are we not equals?”

"My dove, why meddle in the affairs of mortals?"

The other two also stepped closer, like a pack of wild beasts advancing on their prey. Vex'halia took her first true look at their faces. The human was unfamiliar, but the half-elf. His eyes, his high cheekbones, the narrowness of the chin. A face that strongly resembled her own. She shackled the wizard's hands together with a string of thorns as she peered closer at this familiar face.

"What is your name?"

"Vax'ildan." His hand hovered over the blade at his hip.

"Where are you from?"

"Around. Let us have our prize and we'll leave you in peace."

She ignored his demand. "Have you ever been to Syngorn?"

Saundor took her hands. "Enough questions."

Percival let out a ragged breath as he fought off the effects of the paralysis spell. He took several steps back, watching the figures before him. Shaun motioned with his eyes to Vax'ildan, but his attention stayed on Vex'halia.

"What do you know about Syngorn?"

"I lived there with my father."

"And your mother?"

"I never met her."

"I never met my father." Vax'ildan eyed the woman cautiously but allowed her to advance. She stood a few inches shorter than him and put her hands on his face, feeling the concaves of his frown. The second they touched, Vax'ildan's heart sparked. If he looked through the bark and the green, he could see where her features matched his. But no, that didn't make sense. His mother would have told him if he had a sister. He spun out of her grasp and slid up behind Percival, dagger at his throat. "He either leaves this forest alive, or his body joins it."

Vex'halia smiled sadly as the tree that Vax'ildan backed up against grew branches and restrained his arms. "I'm sorry, brother, I can't let you do that."

He struggled against the thick wood. "Don't call me that."

Percival, now freed, prepared to bolt when flowers of an oversaturated purple delirium rose up around him. They released a cloud of spores that dropped him to his feet within seconds. Saundor held his hand in place, watching uninterestedly. "Vex'halia, what are you doing?"

 _Vex'halia. Vax'ildan._ Names that sounded like they were meant to come in pairs. She turned to Saundor, uncertainty pulling at her heart. "I don't know."

"If we're not letting them go, can we kill them already?"

 _"No!"_ she said fiercely. "They're innocent. And that one is family."

"Darling, I'm the only family you need. My heart is yours, is yours not mine?"

She hesitated. "Yes, but..."

A bolt of flame streaked from the wizard's hands as he dropped invisibility and suddenly reappeared, having escaped from his bonds. It struck the tree, splintering the wood and allowing Vax'ildan to wrench away from the burning mass. Shaun stood firmly planted in defense as the rogue seized his dagger, snaking around Vex'halia and Saundor to reach the unconscious prince. Vex'halia held out her hands, not to cast a spell or command the earth, but in a desperate plea.

"Wait! Don't do this, Vax'ildan. I do not know you but our hearts are one. Bringing him home is the same as sentencing him to death."

He sneered. "And you think I haven't killed before?"

"You don't have to. Stay here with me."

Saundor scoffed. "He will do no such thing."

"Then I'll go with him."

_"What?"_

"He's my _blood_ , Saundor. I can't let him go!"

The trees, the ground, and the shadows coalesced onto Saundor's form. "Your father was your blood. What did he give you?" He began to grow, rise up, as the forest floor bubbled and expelled black ichor. "Who saved you from that life? Who gave you everything, for you to go waste it on a brother and a flight of fancy?" His voice, low and darkened with fury. Ichor-slick vines grasped harshly at Vex'halia's arms and legs, trying to entangle her as Saundor spoke. "Who has your heart, Vex'halia?"

"You can't guilt me anymore. You can't keep me here forever." Vex'halia raised a hand and parted the canopy of trees. As the sunlight filtered through the branches, she made a fist and concentrated its light and warmth into a beam as hot as the sun itself. It struck Saundor, leaving a singeing black burn splayed across his chest. He met her eyes, his wide in shock and hers bright with faith in her ascendency. "I love you. But my heart is someone else's."


	5. Chapter 5

Saundor ran his fingers over the smoldering mark on his heart. "Is this how you truly feel, my dove?"

The vines crawled farther up Vex'halia's legs, trying to drag her into a bow before Saundor, but she stood tall and met his gaze. "I can't let you hurt them."

He loomed over her in his new form of gnarled black wood and tall shadows. A chill gnawed at Vex'halia's bones as he ran his eyes over her. There was no love in the yellow slits, bright in his dark silhouette. Only a bitter spite at losing what he once believed was rightfully his.

"Then it's time your wings were clipped."

He was on her in an instant, more beast than man. Thorns clawed at her exposed skin as she tried to push him away. She managed to wrench her hand free and blast him backward with a gust of wind. Vex'halia used her momentary freedom to look to her brother.

"Please, you need to leave." she begged him.

Vax'ildan tore his eyes away from the fight. Percival was at his feet, just coming to consciousness after breathing in the spores. 

"Vax, let's go!" Shaun called out, the ground around him dancing with arcane fractals as he readied a teleportation spell.

They were so close. It would be so easy to get what they came for and bamf out. He pulled Percival up by his collar, brought his face right against the human's. _"Today's the luckiest fucking day of your life,"_ he breathed as he pushed Percival to the side. Vax'ildan turned and sent two daggers spinning in Saundor's direction.

Saundor arched his back and roared in pain as the knives found purchase in his back. He turned away from Vex'halia to face his new attacker, baring his teeth.

"Fool, you should have listened to her." He flicked his wrist, drawing vines from the trees to Vax'ildan's throat and pulling them taut.

Shaun dropped his spell and cast Magic Missile, expelling a barrage of glowing darts from his palm. They blasted Saundor's side, making him lose focus and drop Vax'ildan gasping onto the floor. Twin beams of blinding light carved into Saundor. One was from Vex'halia, pulling from the sunlight even more strongly than before. The other was Percival, clutching his symbol of Pelor and channelling divine energy.

Saundor screamed in agony his form smoked and singed. He began to raise his arms, making the entire forest quake. Everyone fell to their knees, unable to maintain their footing as the ground trembled and split. Birds flew from the trees in hordes. Ichor flowed like black rivers through the cracks in the earth. When it finally stopped, Saundor stood with a large bow of dark wood and verdant vines.

"This weapon was created by the gods themselves."

"Fenthras is a symbol of growth and protection." spat Vex'halia. "You are capable of neither."

Saundor ignored her, nocking an arrow. "It once felled titans. I hate to disrespect it with the blood of a pitiful mortal, but..." He angled it at Vax'ildan.

Vex'halia's eyes grew wide. "Saundor, please," she pled. "It's me you want, not him."

"Don't worry, my darling. You'll get your turn. But this man you've decided to cast me aside for must be made an example out of. And after you watch everyone here die, I'll show you what happens to those that betray me."

The bow flexed forward, releasing the arrow with a roar. Vax'ildan watched it spin through the air towards him slowly, as if it were moving through a thick honey. He closed his eyes, watching flashes of his life behind his eyelids. The sear of the Clasp brand on his back. The cold steel of his daggers in his hands. His mother’s eyes, the same eyes he had, that Vex’halia had. Elaina’s smile, her warmth. He swore he could feel her presence over him. Vax’ildan opened his eyes to a light scrape against his stomach. In front of him wasn’t his mother, but Vex’halia kneeling over him, an arrow plunged through her chest. She coughed up a spray of dark liquid and sank into his arms.

Shaun splayed his fingers apart and cast Banishment. Saundor barely had time to bask in his delight before he vanished with a flash. Shaun sighed with relief and rose to his feet.

“I can’t believe that worked. But we don’t have much time before he comes back.”

Vax’ildan held his sister’s limp body, his vision blurred by his tears. Percival raced to his side.

“I can heal her.” he said, trying to lift her into his arms. Vax’ildan resisted, clutching Vex’halia desperately. “I need you to trust me.” Percival said gently.

Vax’ildan acquiesced, standing and wiping his tears. Shaun glanced nervously at the spot where Saundor stood seconds before. 

“We’re running out of time, Vax, what are we doing?”

“We’re finishing this.” Vax’ildan picked up the fallen bow. It seemed to mold to his hands like a living creature. _Fenthras_ , she had called it. His protector. As he nocked an arrow, Shaun suddenly grinned.

“I have an idea. But everyone will need to stand back.” He pointed a finger, and a beam of yellow light condensed into a bead of energy at the tip of the arrow. Shaun ducked behind a tree and gave Vax’ildan a wink. “Light him the fuck up.”

Vax’ildan pulled the arrow back and held his breath. There was a flash as Saundor’s form began to reappear, and Vax’ildan didn’t even let him fully return before he sent the arrow flying. The second it met its target, the bead of energy erupted into a blazing ball of fire. Vax’ildan was blown back by the force, the flames licking at his face and sizzling the tear stains, but he couldn’t look away. The forest echoed with Saudor’s cries of fury and the crackling of burning wood. The frigid breezes swirling around him sent sparks flying into the sky.

Vax’ildan stood frozen in place, waiting for what came next, but all that was left of Saundor was a blackened mass of smoking wood and green. It wasn’t enough. He needed to suffer for what he put Vex’halia through. Vax’ildan threw the bow aside and ran to where Percival held her. She was breathing but it was shallow, her skin ashen, her open eyes gazing into nothingness.

“Vax,” she whispered, weakly grasping for his hand.

He pressed it into hers, running his other through her hair. “I’m here, Vex, I’m here.” 

“Do not go far from me.”

“I won’t, I swear it.” He glared at Percival. “You said you could heal her.”

“I did heal her. There’s something else wrong.” As Percival said that, Vax’ildan could see that the arrow had been removed from her torso and the wound had been closed up. But her clothes still pooled with dark liquid. The trickle in the corner of her mouth wasn’t blood, it was ichor. “Saundor’s hate poisoned her, just like he’s been corrupting this swamp.”

“We need to get her help. Shaun, teleport us.”

Shaun shook his head. “I can’t do it again today.”

Vax’ildan’s voice cracked in desperation. “We have to go somewhere. The longer we spend here, the sicker she could get.”

“Getting out of the Shademurk is two days travel minimum.” voiced Shaun. “We might as well stay here for the night and teleport tomorrow.”

Vex’halia used the last of her energy to pull her hand out of her brother’s and reach for the tree she was laid against. As her fingers touched the bark, it shimmered and split into a doorway. _“Syngorn,”_ she murmured before falling unconscious.

Percival lifted her limp body and stepped carefully through the doorway. Vax’ildan watched them disappear into the soft, tremulous light. He felt a hand on his back as Shaun gently guided him through.

When he regained his sight, Vax’ildan saw the sky. Sunlight, unencumbered by the darkness of tree boughs and heavy canopies. To his back was an expanse of trees and tall ivy-covered walls of jade. To his front were elves donning armor emblazoned with a crescent, holding swords to his throat.

“Halt,” one shouted in Common. “How did you humans get past the threshold crests?”

Percival stepped forward, holding Vex’halia and speaking in a tongue foreign to Vax’ildan. Elvish. He could only make out his sister’s name. The guards parted, looking worried. The one who spoke before held out his arms to take Vex’halia.

“Come with us, we’ll take you to a healer. You,” he pointed at one of the other guards. “Go get Syldor.”

Vax’ildan, Shaun, and Percy ran after Vex’halia. They stood by anxiously as she was laid in a bed and her body was surrounded by medics and clerics. Spells were cast, salves were applied. Vax’ildan paced back and forth, feeling useless. All he could do was wait for her to wake up. 

Suddenly, the door of the room opened. A dignified elven man entered, stepping slowly to Vex’halia’s bedside. The cadre around her allowed him a moment to trace her face softly with a finger.

“Good gods, it’s really her.” He backed away and turned to the rest of the room. “Thank you for bringing her home. I can’t ever...” He stopped short, turning bone white as recognition flit across his face. “Vax’ildan?”

Vax’ildan met his eyes. Another wave of familiarity washed over him, just as it had in the swamp. They had the same dark brown hair, the same nose, the same angular face. _Same jaw_ , Vax’ildan noted, as he let his fist connect his father’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this chapter is a little dry, I just learned that writing action sequences is really fucking hard
> 
> also i was rewatching parts of campaign 1 and realized that I totally forgot about the lupines in the feywild and now I'm really sad about it. Every fic could use more werewolves


	6. Chapter 6

Syldor approached the cell, peering through the bars. His son, bruised and bound, sat in the far corner and watched him back reproachfully. He turned to the guard that stood nearby. “Is this really necessary?”

“Sir, he injured three members of the Verdant Guard as we detained him.”

“Leave us for a moment.”

The guard’s eyes flirted nervously between Syldor and the man in the cell. “Sir, I...”

“Now, please. I outrank your commanding officer, I'll assuage his qualms some other time.”

The elf bowed his head and cautiously stepped out of the room, his gaze not lifting off the prisoner.

Syldor wordlessly watched Vax’ildan for several moments, rubbing his sore jaw. Finally, he broke the silence. “How is Elaina?”

“She’s dead.” Vax'ildan bared his teeth, spat the words like they were venom. “Take her name out of your mouth, you fucking bastard, she’s gone.”

Syldor sighed. “She was always against this. She never wanted to separate you from your sister.”

“Then why did you?”

“Can you blame me for wanting to keep my daughter close?”

“She preferred being in a swamp over living with you.”

“And I hope being on the verge of death will teach her not to act with such insolence. Vex’halia was a child, she didn’t know what she wanted beyond doing the opposite of what I said.”

“Maybe she was tired of being told what to do.”

Syldor flushed with anger. “What didn’t I give her? She had a nice, safe home. She never went hungry. She had the best tutors, the finest clothes.”

Vax’ildan laughed humorlessly. “I can’t believe my own father is the same kind of man I grew up repulsed by. The kind I mocked, stole from, _spat_ upon.”

The guard returned, purposely stepping loudly to make his presence known. "My apologies, sir, but I've received word that your daughter is awake."

Vax'ildan leaned back against the cell wall, his head on the concrete. "You wanted to know where you failed? Go ask her yourself, _dad_."

——————————————————

Vex’halia’s eyes fluttered open, landing on the ceiling. She hadn’t seen the inside of a building in years. She tried to rise, gritting her teeth at the dull ache in her chest. Percival was at her side in an instant. He gently laid his hands over the healing wound, and they glowed with a gold energy that flooded the pain with warmth. She sighed in relief and looked up at his pale visage, bathed in light.

"Hi."

His shy glance made him look like something celestial. Even angels didn't smile as sweetly. "Hi."

"Thank you. For everything."

He lifted his hands off her. "Vex'halia, I didn't do anything."

"You saved my life."

"And you gave up everything to save mine. It was your brother and the mage that did all the work."

"Where are they? Did they leave?" Vex'halia heard the door open and sat up expectantly. The smile lifting at the corners of her lips dropped when she saw it was Syldor. He approached and knelt beside her.

"Hello, my dear."

She felt her eyes begin to well with tears despite herself. "Father, I..."

"It's alright, you can apologize later. I'm just happy you're safe." He leaned in to embrace her, and as badly as she wanted to remain cold and stiff, Vex'halia found herself leaning into his arms. Syldor took her hand, shooting Percival a look to dismiss him. As Percival began to back away, Vex'halia grabbed his hand and held it tightly. She looked at her father, pained.

"Vax'ildan?"

Syldor sighed and nodded.

Hot tears spilled down Vex'halia's face, full of anger and despair at the confirmation. She forced the word out, low and harsh. _"Why?"_

"It's complicated, child. It wasn't an easy decision to make."

She dropped the hands she clasped and struggled out of bed, pushing aside Percival's help and Syldor's objections. "I want him here."

Syldor silently rubbed his temples before calling a guard to go fetch his son. Vex'halia felt her father's eyes on her with purpose but she didn't meet them. She leaned against the small window and looked out into the city she had left behind so long ago. Roads, buildings, other people. Sunlight, pure and unhindered by the looming darkness of trees. Yet she couldn't help but feel just as trapped as she was in the forest, just as trapped as she had been before she ran away.

Vex'halia finally turned at the clink of shackled hands. Two guards flanked Vax'ildan, chains holding his wrists in front of him. Shaun, unbound, quickly slid to the back wall beside Percival and watched carefully.

Vex'halia stumbled towards her brother. "Why is he bound?" she demanded of the guards. Before they could react, she placed her hands on the restraints. Tiny twigs and vines erupted across the shackles and broke the metal apart easily. The guards leaned back in surprise.

"How..." Syldor stepped closer. "How did you do that?"

Vex'halia ignored him, holding Vax'ildan's arms. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." As he gazed into Vex'halia's face, he didn't know how he could have ever denied the truth. It was like looking into a mirror. Tears streaked across his cheeks. "You're my sister."

Vex'halia laughed gently as she cried as well. "I told you that."

She looked so beautiful, so kind. Like Elaina. What would it have been like if he had grown up with her at his side, or he at hers? Maybe they could have been happy. "I know. I just didn't want to believe it." He wiped his eyes. "I think I've cried more today than the rest of my life combined."

Syldor cleared his throat. "I should go arrange rooms for all of you. And we need to hold a celebration dinner, send out the word and such," He began going for the door.

Vex'halia turned. "Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

Syldor stopped. "Excuse me?"

"Where. Are. You. Going? Did you really think you could leave without any explanation?"

"We have all the time in the world for unpleasant conversation. Can't we just enjoy your return?"

Vex'halia shot the guards a glare so lethal that they left the room without looking to Syldor for approval. Shaun and Percy followed suit. She shifted focus to Syldor. "Sit."

"I'm your father, you cannot..."

Vex'halia shot a vine around the leg of a chair and pulled it under Syldor, who fell into it with surprise and fear. He shifted his tone to warmth, forced tenderness to hide his unease.

"My darling, what are you doing?"

Vex'halia clenched her fists. With every word, she could only hear Saundor's murmurs against her ear. "I just want answers."

Vax'ildan stepped forward to stand at her side, pulling her fingers from a fist and intertwined them with his. "We both do."

Syldor sighed, leaning back into the chair. "Three decades ago, Syngorn was working on a joint undertaking with Tal'Dorei. As an ambassador for the city, I spent a lot of time abroad. I didn't have any stability in my life, I was lonely and restless. Elaina, she...She was different. Young, bright, full of energy."

"You're fucking sick," Vax'ildan's voice wavered, choked with tears that he refused to spill for his father. "My mother was just a distraction for you? A fun little human toy?"

"Mind your words. I cared for Elaina deeply. I brought her to Emon, gave her more gold than she had ever seen in her life."

"So she was a charity case. I bet you got off on that, small-town girl thinking you hung the moon because you gave the _semblance of a fuck_ about her. Did you show her all the tall, fancy towers in Emon? I got to see them from the _slums_ we lived in."

Vex'halia put her hand up, quieting Vax'ildan's fury. "Why didn't you bring her to Syngorn?" she asked evenly.

Syldor looked at her with sad eyes. "You know how it is here. How would they have treated her?"

"Or was it because you didn't want to deal with the stares, the comments, the hit to your reputation?"

"I was being _practical_. I didn't know Elaina was pregnant, and by the time you born, it was time for me to return. She couldn't afford to feed two mouths, and I felt she would be safer with a man in the house so I took you and left Vax'ildan."

"I wish you had left me too."

He ran his hands through his hair. "Well, you can't change the past. I worked so hard to make sure you had everything."

"You can't buy love, Syldor." Vax'ildan scoffed. "You can't buy respect, no matter how hard you try."

"I wanted _attention_ , father. Your approval mattered to me so much more than all of Syngorn damning me for existing. And you couldn't give me that. I was a trained pawn, and even that was only when you wanted me to be seen at all. A gilded cage is still a cage." Vex'halia exhaled shakily. "You were a failure of a father."

"You're a failure of a _man_ , Syldor." Vax'ildan looked at him in disgust. "I never had shit. But I had the chance to have someone who understood, someone besides my mother who cared about me." He squeezed Vex'halia's hand. "And you stole that from me."

Syldor eyes raced between his children. He opened his mouth but no words escaped. Instead, he bowed his head. Vex'halia and Vax'ildan tried to convince themselves that they felt better as their ears rang with the silence of a broken man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> may i offer you a super late and mildly depressing chapter in these trying times


End file.
